


Sibling Souls!

by CalSantiago



Series: Soulsborne Modern AU [3]
Category: Bloodborne (Video Game), Dark Souls (Video Games), Dark Souls II, Dark Souls III, Demon's Souls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Comedy, F/M, Gen, Protective Siblings, Siblings, Slice of Life, Summer Festival
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2016-08-23
Packaged: 2018-07-24 13:37:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7510432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CalSantiago/pseuds/CalSantiago
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Chosen Undead is excited about his older sister Anri of Astora coming home after a year-long Blue Sentinels excursion. Only, she brought someone else with her, too. The Chosen Undead enlists the gang's help to "protect" Anri... More shenanigans ensue!</p>
<p>---BUSY WITH WORK, CURRENTLY ON HIATUS---</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Big Sis Anri

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place after the events of "Slice of Souls!" so be wary of some spoilers from that story. Might also want to check out "Beyond the Fog Gate" first for some backstory on the Chosen Undead and Rhea.
> 
> Also, I'm obviously going with female Anri and male Ashen One here. Here's what they look like: http://calsantiago.tumblr.com/post/144900637473/soulsborne-modern-au-character-designs-part-4-done

"Hey there, Rhea-chan. Ready to go?"

Saturday, 6pm. Marcus, the Chosen Undead, was standing in the reception area of the Way of White Medical Center, waiting for his girlfriend Rhea of Thorolund to finish her shift. She had just stepped out of the elevator, and the two were getting ready to head to the airport in a little while. The Chosen Undead gave his girlfriend a hug as soon as he saw her, but couldn't help but notice the somewhat distraught look on her face.

"I'm ready to go," Rhea nodded. "Sorry, I didn't take too long, did I? My scrubs were soiled pretty badly at the ER today..."

"Nah, it's OK," the Chosen Undead smiled. "We still have enough time to get to the airport before Sis arrives."

"Ah, that's good to know," Rhea said with a sigh of relief. 

"So, uh, why the long face?" the Chosen Undead asked. "Mind if I ask what happened _this_ time?"

"Just another troublesome patient..." Rhea answered with another sigh. "Honestly, I don't even know WHY someone would think to stick their entire arm inside a basilisk's mouth! It's just... Just so... _How unpleasant!_ "

"I haven't heard you say that catchphrase in a long time," the Chosen Undead chuckled, inwardly amused at how cute Rhea looked even when she was venting her frustration.

Rhea blushed. "H-huh? S-since when was that my catchphrase?"

"You used to say it all the time in high school, remember? Especially when you were flustered. You know, I... I always found it really cute the way you said it..."

"D-don't say embarrassing things, Marcus-kun..."

"Hey, just saying. Maybe it's resurfacing since you haven't used it in a long time, hehe."

With that, the Chosen Undead leaned forward to give Rhea a kiss on the forehead. She gladly let him as she herself leaned closer to him, and admittedly it helped calm her nerves considerably. Rhea sighed softly and smiled. With the couple both in good spirits again, the two began walking towards the hospital exit.

"So, are you excited?" Rhea spoke up again once she and the Chosen Undead were outside. "You've been really looking forward to seeing your sister again for the past few weeks... It's been a whole year now since Anri-san left, right?"

"Yeah," the Chosen Undead nodded. "And we haven't been able to talk much either since she's always on a mission or out training... These Blue Sentinel excursions are really hardcore. Glad I never joined!"

"Well, Solaire got to you first," Rhea joked.

"Speaking of which, there he is," the Chosen Undead said as he waved at the tall blond man waiting outside a silver car in the parking lot. The couple crossed the street, made their way to Solaire of Astora and happily greeted him. 

"Hey buddy!" the Chosen Undead said, "Thanks so much for offering to drive us to the airport! I really appreciate it!"

"Oh, no problem at all!" Solaire smiled. "Always a pleasure to engage in jolly cooperation!"

"Lady Maria isn't with you today?" Rhea asked, noticing the vacant front passenger seat.

"Sadly, no..." Solaire replied. "She has kendo lessons to teach tonight. Actually, I want to get her some dinner when we get back. It's just a quick stop at the Mexican restaurant. Do you mind?"

"No, not at all," the Chosen Undead said. "So, shall we be off?"

And with that, the three drove off to the airport. The Chosen Undead was particularly excited, not to mention anxious. He had always been close with his older sister Anri of Astora and couldn't wait to see her again after all this time apart. He, Rhea and Anri would be staying over at his parents' house for a couple of weeks. They were going to attend a Summer Festival next weekend at the nearby shrine, too. Solaire, Maria, and the rest of the gang would be joining them at the festival as well.

Rhea seemed excited about seeing Anri again, too, since she had met the older knightess a couple of times before and quite liked her. Rhea and the Chosen Undead were still in school (and not yet dating) back then, but they always hung out together and were usually paired for assignments. Anri had helped them out on a few projects and frequently teased that the two would make a cute couple, much to their embarrassment. Naturally, Anri had a field day when the Chosen Undead and Rhea _finally_ got together after coming back from the hotsprings last year...

"Marcus-kun, remember when we had dinner the night before Anri-san left?" Rhea said, recalling that particular evening. "She showed me some of your baby photos and videos! You were so adorable! D-do you think I could see some more when we get to your parents' house? Pretty please?"

"R-right, that..." the Chosen Undead scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "I-if you really want to..."

"Ah, family reunions..." Solaire said, "It's always so nice to spend the Summer Festival together with your loved ones..." He smiled, but also let out a small sigh.

"Aww, it's all right, Solaire," Rhea patted him on the shoulder from the backseat. "You get to spend the Summer Festival with the gang and Maria, at least!"

"Aha ha ha, you're right, Rhea," Solaire grinned. "Indeed, Maria seems pretty excited for it. Kind of rare for her, really... Then again, it's her first major _matsuri_ , after all. She even bought a new yukata with the Doll the other day, too!"

"Perhaps she'd like to go see the lantern display?" Rhea suggested.

"Maria might like that, yes," Solaire nodded. "Though she was asking if there would be a swordfighting competition..."

"Um... I don't think Summer Festivals have those..." Rhea said sheepishly.

"She should try the goldfish catching game," the Chosen Undead joked. "Sis and I would compete to catch the biggest goldfish when we were kids... She always won, of course. My paper fan always broke so fast... And the turtle at the bottom bit my finger once!"

"Aww, poor Marcus-kun..." Rhea teased as she kissed her boyfriend on the cheek. "You and Anri-san should have a rematch, then. Who knows, maybe you'll have better luck this year?"

"If she's up to it, yeah," the Chosen Undead said. "She'll definitely assault the takoyaki stand, that's for sure..."

"My, your sister sure sounds like a fun person," Solaire chuckled. "I'm looking forward to meeting Anri, and I'm certain the rest of the gang is, too! Aha ha ha ha!"

"Yeah, I can't wait to see her again," the Chosen Undead smiled.

Rhea couldn't help but smile herself, seeing the Chosen Undead this happy. She knew very well that her boyfriend was extremely close with his older sister and greatly looked up to her. Rhea couldn't help but be just a little bit jealous of him having such a great relationship with his older sister, though. The cleric maiden had always felt overshadowed by her own older sisters and was never really close with any of them. In fact, her cousin Astraea was the closest Rhea had to a real big sister figure. Still, even though Rhea wished she had a sister like Anri as well, she was happy for the Chosen Undead and found their relationship incredibly sweet. 

The airport was still about an hour or so away, but the group was making good time. The sun had already set and the roads were starting to clear up. The Chosen Undead leaned back into the seats and yawned. He'd been so excited to see Anri again that he hadn't had much sleep the previous night. Rhea was especially tired from a long day of casting healing miracles at not-terribly-bright patients, too. Without realizing it, she leaned into the Chosen Undead's shoulder and let out a soft yawn as well.

"Sleepy?" the Chosen Undead asked Rhea as he stroked her hair.

"It seems we both are..." Rhea yawned again, nuzzling her boyfriend on the cheek.

"You two should take a quick nap," Solaire said. "No worries, we'll make it to the airport just in time!"

"Well, I suppose a bit of shuteye won't hurt..." the Chosen Undead yawned again. He looked at Rhea, who was already fast asleep. He chuckled and kissed her on the forehead, and before long the knight had fallen asleep, too.

...

_Twenty years ago..._

"Sis! Sis, wait up!"

"Race ya back to the house, pipsqueak! Whoever gets there first gets to name it!"

"No fair, Sis! Your legs are longer than mine...!"

It was a warm summer afternoon. Four-year-old Marcus ran through the forest, desperately trying to catch up with his big sister. His tiny feet easily sank into the thick layer of dry, crunchy leaf litter, slowing him down even more. Anri was already getting further and further ahead of him, her long brown ponytail swaying in the wind as she ran. Sometimes she would stop and playfully tease her little brother for being such a short, stubby slowpoke... Then she would continue running again. The two kids were playing with their toy swords in the woods behind their house that day, when suddenly they caught a glimpse of something shiny scurrying away in a corner. Anri went to investigate and realized it was a baby crystal lizard. It was the first time she and her little brother had actually seen one outside of the zoo, and naturally, the curious children followed it.

Their pursuit of the lizard led them deeper into the woods, into territory that definitely wasn't safe for a four-year-old boy and eight-year-old girl to be all alone in... The trees were larger and the forest was darker. There was some fog on the ground and every now and then Demonic Foliage would pass by and bury themselves in the dirt as they waited for unsuspecting prey to come near them. Somewhere in the shadows, Capra Demon dogs could be heard growling, too. Definitely not a place for kids.

The Chosen Undead and Anri didn't quite realize this— they were too busy trying to catch the fast little critter to notice. Finally, the two were able to back the lizard up into a corner, and jumped at it. Anri had caught the lizard by the tail, while her brother caught it by its right front leg. The crystal lizard squirmed in the kids' grasp, and Anri loosened her grip slightly to make sure the animal wasn't in pain. She told her brother to do the same, and he obeyed.

"D-do you think Mom and Dad will let us keep it?" the Chosen Undead asked.

"Sure hope so!" Anri nodded. "I mean, we went to all this trouble to catch it..."

"It looks kinda scared, though..." the Chosen Undead said, noticing how the crystal lizard was still anxious and fidgety.

"It's just a little shaken up," Anri reassured her brother, "It'll be a happy little fella again once we get it home and feed it. Some carrots and lettuce should do the trick... Plus, it'll give us Twinkling Titanite when it's older! That should help Mom and Dad lots!"

With that, Anri carefully picked up the crystal lizard and cradled it in her arms. As she stood up, it was only then that she realized she and her brother weren't in the familiar part of the forest anymore... For a split second, Anri felt panic at not knowing exactly where she was. Still, not wanting to worry or scare her brother, she quickly regained her composure. Anri then tried her best to figure out which direction the two of them came from and follow it back. Luckily, Anri was a smart girl and knew how to pick a safer path. She avoided areas with large, conspicuous bushes, knowing full well that those were actually Demonic Foliage waiting to ambush them. She steered clear of the darker areas of the forest to avoid Capra Demon dogs. The entire time, the Chosen Undead obediently followed her.

The young girl's patience paid off when she and her little brother finally started to recognize their surroundings again. Anri breathed a sigh of relief. Confident that she and the Chosen Undead were no longer in any potential danger, Anri started running as fast as she could, signaling an impromptu race back to their house. The young girl could only snicker when a flustered Marcus tried to catch up with her. No doubt he wanted to be the one to name the crystal lizard. He probably wanted to call it, "Amadeus" or something...

"Too slow, Marcus!" Anri teased as she ran through the woods.

"Sis, w-wait up! Seriously!" the Chosen Undead was starting to run out of breath. "W-wait... for... me..."

Unable to keep it up much longer, the young boy stopped to catch his breath. He leaned against the trunk of a tree, panting and pouting. When a few minutes had passed and he was still having difficulty breathing, the boy frowned and reached for something in his pocket... A "puff whistle", Mom and Dad called it. He had to put it in his mouth, press the button on top and suck in the air whenever he couldn't breathe. The Chosen Undead found it troublesome, not to mention gross. He absolutely hated the taste of the "air" in his puff whistle. But it did help him breathe normally again, at least.

Now that he was back to normal, the Chosen Undead focused on trying to find out where Anri was. He knew he was in a familiar part of the woods, and that home wasn't too far away, but he wasn't quite sure exactly _where_. Being four years old, he still didn't have much of a sense of direction. The boy looked up at the canopy and saw that the sun was starting to get lower in the sky. He stiffened. He did NOT want to be stuck in the forest when it got dark. The Chosen Undead then cried out at the top of his lungs:

"SIS!!! SIS!!! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

_HRRNNNNNNNFFFFFGGHH..._

"S-sis? I-is that you...?" the boy said nervously upon hearing the strange noise.

_SHHHHNNFFF... SHHHHNNFFF..._

"Sis, cut it out! It's not funny!" the Chosen Undead yelled.

_SHHHHRRNNNFFF... HHRRNNNNNGGFFFF..._

By then, the young boy was sure whatever was making the noises wasn't Anri. The sound was coming from behind him, but he couldn't see what was making it. The Chosen Undead was beginning to panic again. He tightly gripped the hilt of his toy sword and raised it in front of him. Tears were already running from his eyes and his nose was starting to feel stuffy. But he had to be brave... Brave like Big Sis... Brave like Anri...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRGGHHH!!!"

Suddenly, the boy found himself pinned to the ground by something heavy. It was a large, reptilian creature covered in thick, black scales and had sharp, jagged blue crystals protruding from its body... A giant crystal lizard! The Chosen Undead could barely let out a scream as the weight of the beast and its sharp claws pressed down on him. The creature roared at the terrified little boy, bearing its fangs and scaring him even more.

"MARCUS!!!"

"SIS!!!" the Chosen Undead shouted as he saw his sister rushing to his aid.

Anri was carrying a large tree branch and charged at the giant crystal lizard. She whacked the branch against the creature, doing whatever she could to make it release her brother. The giant crystal lizard seemed mildly annoyed at most, and slammed its large tail on the ground as if to taunt Anri even more. Anri was furious.

"LEAVE MY LITTLE BROTHER ALONE!!!"

With a forceful jab, the tree branch hit the giant crystal lizard square in the eye. The creature roared out in pain as blood spurted from the ruptured eye. Infuriated, it swiped its claws at Anri, slashing at her right eyebrow. Anri fell to the ground, clutching her face as her brow began to bleed profusely. The giant crystal lizard loomed over them, growling. The way things were right now, both she and Marcus wouldn't stand a chance against the beast...

Suddenly, Anri realized why the creature was attacking them in the first place... Without a second thought, she opened her backpack and released the baby crystal lizard they had caught earlier. The little creature immediately scurried towards the larger beast, and it seemed that was enough to prevent it from outright killing the two children. After one last defiant growl from the larger beast, followed by a swish and slam of its tail, the two crystal lizards turned their backs and walked away. 

The kids were left on the ground, shaken.

"I'm sorry, Marcus..." Anri cried as she hugged her brother tightly, "I'm so sorry..."

"S-Sis... _Onee-chan..._ " Marcus sobbed as he clung to his sister.

For a while, the two kids just sat there. They were still in shock over what happened. Anri continued to comfort her little brother, ignoring the pain of her own wound as well as the blood that kept dripping down her face. She gently patted Marcus on the head to calm him down, apologizing again and again. When his cries softened somewhat, Anri, determined to never put her brother in danger again, declared:

"Marcus... I promise, from here on out, I'm gonna protect you... I... I'm gonna be a KNIGHT! An ELITE KNIGHT! I... I won't let anyone or anything harm you ever again!"

"Sis..." the Chosen Undead sniffed as he reached out to touch the bleeding wound on his sister's brow, "I... I'm gonna be a knight, too! W-we'll protect each other! I won't let anyone hurt you, too!"

"Heh... Sounds good to me," Anri said as she wiped her eyes on her arm. She stood up and helped her little brother get back on his feet, then took his hand in hers.

"Come on little bro, let's go home..."

Back inside Solaire's car, the Chosen Undead woke up. Rhea had woken up as well, and was giving him a funny look. Did he say anything weird when he was asleep or something? The Chosen Undead wasn't really sure. In any case, he checked his watch to see what time it was, then looked out the car window. He could see the airport building was only a few feet away. They were here...

...

"Let's see, Baggage Claim Carousel 3..." the Chosen Undead said as he looked around the arrivals area at the airport. "OK, now to look for Sis... Hey, it's Horace!"

"M-Marcus-kun, wait for me!" Rhea said as she chased after her boyfriend.

The young man excitedly ran towards the knight known as Horace the Hushed, a childhood friend of his and Anri's. The older man recognized the young knight, took off his helmet and smiled. Horace was a large, intimidating man in his early thirties who stood at 6'5" and had an incredibly muscular build. Horace was mute and could only speak in either grunts or sign language, and to most people he came off as a brute. His face was stern and angular, he had scars across his nose and throat, and he sported a buzz cut that made him look even more like a thug. In reality, though, Horace was quite friendly and approachable in spite of his appearance. Once the Chosen Undead reached him, Horace easily picked him up in a big bear hug and gave a grunt of happiness.

 _"It's great to see ya, kiddo!"_ Horace said in sign language.

"Great to see you, too, Horace!" the Chosen Undead said. "Oh! Horace, you remember Rhea, right?"

Horace nodded and smiled at Rhea. The maiden smiled back despite being intimidated. She had only met Horace once, and that was over six years ago when he and Anri drove her and the Chosen Undead to an old keep for a school project. Rhea was downright terrified of Horace back then, but calmed down after the Chosen Undead and Anri assured her that he was friendly.

"Hey, it's OK. He doesn't bite," the Chosen Undead chuckled. "He even bought us ice cream last time, remember?"

"Y-yes, I know," Rhea said. "Hello, Horace-san. It's nice to see you again."

 _"The pleasure is mine, Maiden Thorolund,"_ Horace signed.

"So Horace, where's Sis?" the Chosen Undead asked as he looked around. "She said to meet her at carousel 3, but I don't see her anywhere..."

"Are you looking for Anri? She quickly went to the restroom. She'll be back here in a bit." 

The Chosen Undead turned around after hearing the unfamiliar voice and saw a man wearing a Wandering Knight helm and red scarf standing behind him. The man was wearing the Blue Sentinels jacket, so he must've been part of the covenant like Anri and Horace. The Chosen Undead didn't think too much about it, since there were other Blue Sentinels on Anri's flight back as well.

"Oh, uh... thanks," the Chosen Undead said.

"No problem. It's nice to meet you, Marcus," the unfamiliar knight said.

"H-huh? Wait, how do you know my name?" the younger knight said in surprise.

"Ah, right. I forgot to introduce myself," the other man said as he took off his helm and revealed his face. 

He was a man in his late twenties, like Anri, though the Chosen Undead could tell he was younger than his sister. The knight had short, ash blond hair and pale hazel-green eyes. He also had a scar on his left eyebrow, which reminded the Chosen Undead a lot of his sister's own scar... The older knight smiled nervously, then extended his hand.

"Hello! I'm Grey, the Ashen One."

"Uh... Nice to meet you," the Chosen Undead said as he awkwardly shook the man's hand. He honestly had no idea what to say since he hadn't been expecting to meet anyone else at the airport. "So, uh, you're... a Blue Sentinel, huh... I mean, you're wearing the jacket and all..."

"Ah yes, that's right," the Ashen One said. "I've only been with the Sentinels for about two years, though. Not as long as Anri or Horace. I was lucky to be part of the excursion, really. Normally they don't allow the lower-ranking members to join."

"Um, sure..." the Chosen Undead continued the conversation out of politeness, though he was still confused as to why the knight was still talking to him. "So, you're on the same team as Horace and Sis?"

"Yeah, Anri was the one who showed me around when I first signed up," the Ashen One nodded. "I ended up on her team after I completed training... Ah, speaking of which, there she is!"

"Hey, little bro! Hey, Rhea! Long time no see!"

"SIS!!!" the Chosen Undead sprinted towards Anri and glomped her. "Welcome back!"

"Glad to be back, pipsqueak!" Anri said as she hugged the Chosen Undead and gave him a noogie on the head. "So, how've you been doing, huh? We didn't really get to talk recently for the past month or so... Have you been a good boy, Marcus?"

"I-I'd like to think I have..." the Chosen Undead said as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"That means you haven't, then," Anri snarked.

"Hello, Anri-san!" Rhea smiled, "Welcome back!"

"Aww, thanks. Good to see you, Rhea!" Anri smiled. "I heard you moved in with my little bro. Has he been taking care of you? Have you two been eating well? I mean, Marcus isn't exactly the best chef in the world and I don't want you to starve...!"

"Marcus-kun has been taking good care of me, don't worry," Rhea chuckled. "And yes, he knows how to cook something other than omurice now... I taught him."

"Atta girl, Rhea!" Anri beamed. "Well, looks like everything's been going great while I was away! It's good to be back. I'm looking forward to seeing Mom and Dad and our old house again! Ah...! And Mom is gonna make mochi and azuki for the festival, too! Sweet! Can't wait to get home!"

"Oh, by the way, does Horace need a ride, too?" the Chosen Undead asked, "There should still be room in Solaire's car for one more person."

 _"Nah, I'm fine, thanks,"_ Horace gestured with a smile.

"Horace is good," Anri assured her brother. "A friend of ours is gonna meet up with him here. She used to be in the Sentinels, too. Ah, but now I think she's working at that senior home or something. _'Firelink Kiln Home for the Aged'_ , I think."

"T-the one where Gehrman lives..." the Chosen Undead muttered nervously.

"Gehrman? Who's that?" Anri asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Err... He's my friend's sort-of-not-quite father-in-law..." the younger knight explained. "It's kinda complicated. I'm sure the Hunter will tell you all about it when we go to the festival next weekend... Or maybe not..."

"Riiiiiiiiight..." Anri said awkwardly, "Well, anyway, I'll still take you up on your offer of having one extra person in the car... So Grey, are you ready to go?"

"Yep! Ready!" the Ashen One replied as he pulled his luggage.

"Oh, um... OK..." the Chosen Undead said, "So... Where are we gonna drop him off?"

Anri gave her brother a puzzled look. "Eh? Grey's coming with us. He'll be staying over at our parents' house."

"H-huh?! W-wait, why?" the Chosen Undead asked, surprised.

"Oh, Grey..." Anri said as she gave the Ashen One a sideways glance, "You forgot to tell him, didn't you, babe?"

"Huh? Huh?? HUH???" the Chosen Undead grew even more confused.

"Oh dear, I can tell this is going to be unpleasant..." Rhea muttered under her breath.

"Um, right... I forgot to mention..." the Ashen One smiled awkwardly.

"... I'm Anri's boyfriend."

"YOU'RE _WHAT?!_ "


	2. The Ashen Boyfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anri introduces her new boyfriend, the Ashen One, to the family. The Chosen Undead is not pleased.

"Hello! I'm Grey, the Ashen One. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Undead!"

At the dinner table, the Chosen Undead and Anri's parents could only smile awkwardly as the knight introduced himself. They weren't really sure how they should react to this situation. Much like their son, the last thing they expected Anri to bring home was a boyfriend... It was almost surreal, really. After all, she had never shown much interest in dating and specifically _boys_ when she was growing up...

"Marcus, I thought your sister didn't swing that way..." Mr. Undead whispered to his son.

"I know, right?" the Chosen Undead whispered back. "What sorcery is this?!"

"You two aren't very good at whispering..." Rhea muttered.

Thankfully, Anri and the Ashen One hadn't noticed the not-so-subtle way the Chosen Undead and his father were talking about them. Anri was too busy stuffing herself with the grilled fish, pickled vegetables and rice her mother had prepared, while Grey was awkwardly answering all the rapid fire questions Mrs. Undead kept throwing at him. How long had he been in the Sentinels? How did he and Anri meet? How long had he and Anri been dating? How come Anri had never told anyone about him?

That last question struck a chord with the Chosen Undead. After all, he was the one who had kept in contact with Anri the most during her absence. Before she left for the excursion, he vaguely remembered having a conversation about helping out a new recruit, and later on having said recruit become part of her team. The knightess had never gone into much detail about it and didn't bring it up again. Naturally, the Chosen Undead assumed it wasn't all that important. And now here she was with said teammate, now boyfriend, having dinner with the family... Frankly, the Chosen Undead didn't have much of an opinion on the Ashen One just yet. He was still mostly in shock over the whole thing.

"Marcus-kun, you aren't eating," Rhea spoke up. "Are you OK?"

"H-huh? Oh, y-yeah, I'm fine..." the Chosen Undead said absentmindedly.

"I know it must be a shock to you," Rhea said, "But you shouldn't try to judge the Ashen One right away. I mean, he seems like a nice person, doesn't he?"

"Y-yeah, I guess you're right..." the knight sighed. "I must be overthinking things..."

For the most part, dinner went relatively smoothly that night. While they ate, the Ashen One explained that he was actually living in the same city when he signed up for the Blue Sentinels two years ago, and it was Anri who had shown him around. Anri added that initially, she was just his senpai in the Covenant, but she and the Ashen One soon became good friends after training and going on several missions together. She was also the one who convinced their leader Targray to let the Ashen One join the excursion despite him being a lower-ranking Covenant member. It was only in February that same year when they had started to go out, and the two had been an exclusive couple for only a few months.

"So... Here we are now!" Anri smiled as she took a bite of her dessert.

"I see..." Mr. Undead said, rubbing his chin.

"Well, congratulations, sweetie," Mrs. Undead said. "Though to be honest, I was expecting you and Horace to get together..."

Anri cringed and made an uncomfortable face. "Horace is like family, Mom... That's gross."

"Well, anyway, want me to fix up the guest bedroom?" Mr. Undead asked the Ashen One awkwardly, "You know, so you have a place to stay for the next two weeks?"

"Oh, um, sure—" the Ashen One tried to say, but was cut off.

"Nah, it's fine, Dad," Anri shook her head. "Grey can stay with me in my old bedroom."

As soon as Anri said that, her father and younger brother spat out their drinks in perfect synchronization. Meanwhile, Mrs. Undead and Rhea exchanged nervous looks. The two men immediately turned their attention to the Ashen One, who was starting to sweat bullets once he saw the piercing glares the Chosen Undead and his father were giving him. Their glares were so bad the Ashen One felt he might as well have been skewered through the stomach with Iudex Gundyr's coiled sword.

"Anri, a-are you sure?" the Ashen One said nervously, "I-I'm fine with staying in the guest room!"

"Sheesh, Grey, it's no big deal," Anri said. "My bed is big enough for the both of us, but if you _really_ want to, we can set up the airbed on the floor. And besides, Marcus and Rhea get to stay in the same room, too, right?"

"B-but that's because..." the Chosen Undead tried to speak, but Anri interrupted.

"C'mon, Marcus," Anri joked, "You don't get special treatment just because you're the youngest. Or because you and Rhea have been dating longer."

"R-right..." was all the young knight could say.

Not wanting to make the situation even more awkward, Mr. Undead hesitantly agreed to let the Ashen One and Anri stay in the same room. Perhaps he realized he was overreacting, or maybe he remembered his daughter was in fact pushing thirty and that it was ridiculous for him to still go against her making her own decisions... The Chosen Undead, on the other hand, felt uneasy. Despite everything, he was still an overprotective baby brother who wanted to make absolutely sure his big sis was safe.

It didn't help that he spent a good three hours watching crime documentaries that night... About smooth-talking, attractive conmen who tricked women into having a relationship with them, then either swindling money off or outright murdering them... That absolutely did not do good for his nerves at all.

"Marcus-kun? Sweetie?" Rhea said with half-lidded eyes, "It's late. Turn that thing off and come to bed..."

"O-OK, honey..." the Chosen Undead said as he shut off the TV. 

He joined Rhea under the covers not long after. The cleric maiden was already fast asleep, but the knight found he couldn't even shut his eyes. Anri's room was just across the hall from his, and as much as he didn't want to think about what she and the Ashen One could possibly be doing in there, the thought kept nagging him. Surely they weren't as bad as Artorias and Ciaran, right...? Then again, just the mere thought of his big sis doing... _that_ made him want to vomit and gouge his eyes out at the same time. And he still wasn't sure if he could trust this Grey guy... Especially not after all those documentaries he just watched.

"I should keep an eye on the Ashen One..."

...

Things seemed to settle down a little the next morning. Rhea and the Chosen Undead had gotten up extra early and worked together to cook for the family. The knight made his trademark omurice and grilled dragon meat sausages, and the cleric maiden made pancakes. To their surprise, the Ashen One had gotten up early as well, and offered to help them out by making some coffee. Mr. and Mrs. Undead woke up not long after. Anri was the last to get out of bed, apparently having been hit by a bad case of jetlag and a cold. In any case, breakfast was pleasant and not as awkward as dinner the previous night. It was Sunday, so Mr. and Mrs. Undead decided to stay at home and relax after a long hard week of work. Anri also decided to stay at home to try and recover. The Chosen Undead had given her some Estus Soup to help her feel better before he and Rhea went out together to go see their friends that day. The Ashen One had also gone out that day, apparently to meet with someone, as well as to go buy some food and medication for Anri.

The Chosen Undead and Rhea met up with the Hunter, the Doll, Solaire and Maria at the park. They sat around one of the large circular stone tables; the ones that had chessboard patterns carved into them. It was always so nice and quiet at the park on Sunday mornings. There were only a few people around and they were quiet, too... well, except for Patches, who was once again setting up another illegal merchandise stall. Oh well, the Silver Knight police would chase him away in about fifteen minutes, anyway. Still, it was a nice, warm, lazy morning. The ginkgo trees were a vivid green— it _was_ summer after all. Rhea could only imagine how the trees at the shrine would look during the festival, especially with all the decorative lanterns hanging from them.

The group talked about how their week went and how their friends were doing. They briefly discussed Garl and Astraea's upcoming wedding, which was only a couple of months away. The Hunter couldn't help but voice his concerns, saying that his Great One senses told him something weird would once again happen during the wedding... Something about a large tiger in a hotel bathroom, someone losing a tooth, someone getting stung by a platypus, and someone running around drunk in their underwear while being chased by the police... The Doll laughed and said he was just overreacting again. Maria remarked that he must've been watching too many wildlife documentaries. Solaire retaliated that Maria was one to talk, after buying several DVD sets of all seven seasons of that documentary about swords from around the world that she was addicted to.

Rather than get mad, however, Maria responded with a soft, "Touché" and nuzzled Solaire on the cheek. The Warrior of Sunlight responded by kissing her on the forehead. Meanwhile, the Hunter, the Chosen Undead and Rhea could only look in discomfort before turning their eyes elsewhere. The Hunter looked so uncomfortable it was as if he were suffering a bad Frenzy buildup at the Nightmare of Mensis. The Doll, on the other hand, seemed to have a devious smirk on her face that made her look more Cainhurst than ever before. Solaire and Maria were acting more... _couple-y_ than usual. Even though, as far as their friends knew, they weren't even one. Or were they...? Exactly _what_ was going on between these two, anyway?!

After a while, the group of friends resumed their conversation. Eventually it was the Chosen Undead's turn to share stories, and he talked about Anri coming home. And of course, he also talked about the Ashen One and how the family reacted to him. He mentioned the awkward dinner; how the family's entire world view was apparently shattered when they found out that Anri was, in fact, NOT batting for the other team. Solaire couldn't help but let out an ironic laugh upon hearing that.

"Well, that sure does sound familiar," he chuckled. "Except there weren't any angry Sunlight Spears being thrown around..."

"And nobody flying away on a Stormdrake," Maria added dryly.

"You should've seen the look on Marcus-kun and Mr. Undead's faces," Rhea said. "I thought I needed to cast Pillars of Light at any moment to control the situation."

"C-C'mon, Rhea-chan, you're exaggerating!" the Chosen Undead said. Rhea playfully stuck her tongue out at him.

"So, what's Anri like, anyway?" the Hunter asked. He turned to Solaire. "You met her and the Ashen One, right?"

"Mm, yes," Solaire nodded. "Anri is a wonderful woman! Very warm and friendly, indeed. She shared plenty of stories about her missions with the Blue Sentinels. She sounds like a very talented knightess, too. I can see why Marcus looks up to her so greatly!"

"Told ya Sis was awesome," the Chosen Undead beamed.

"And the Ashen One?" the Doll asked. "What was he like?"

"Actually, he seems like quite the swell fellow!" Solaire said. "Rather shy and softspoken gent, though. He didn't really talk much in the car."

"But he isn't weird or anything, right?" the Hunter asked.

The Chosen Undead found himself involuntarily smiling when he heard the Hunter say that. His friend had always been wary of meeting new people, too. Probably had something to do with that one incident with the Healing Church Doctor from when he was still a slug... Either way, for a while, the young knight was relieved that there was someone else on his side, however temporarily.

"No, not at all!" Solaire grinned as he answered the Hunter's question. "I'm sure we'll have an excellent time with him and Anri during the festival!"

"See, Marcus-kun?" Rhea teased her boyfriend, "The Ashen One isn't all that bad! So you should stop acting like he's up to no good or something. It isn't like he's blackmailing Anri-san to be his girlfriend or anything..."

"R-Rhea-chan!" the Chosen Undead snapped, "D-don't say things like that! You're making me paranoid!"

Rhea sighed. "I TOLD you not to watch those crime documentaries last night, Marcus-kun! It isn't good for your nerves. You know how you are when you jump to conclusions."

"I d-don't jump to conlusions!" the knight said, a blush starting to dust his cheeks.

"Says the guy who thought the girls were being possessed by demons at the hotsprings," the Hunter snarked.

"I can still remember the look on Ciaran's face," the Doll added, giggling. "It was downright murderous."

"... I'm glad I wasn't there, then," Maria added. "Still, blackmailing someone to be their girlfriend... It sounds ridiculous to me, to be honest. Actually, it sounds like something only Alfred would do..."

"P-please don't bring that up, Maria," Solaire said uncomfortably.

Maria snickered and looked at the Chosen Undead. "Really, I don't think you should be worried. It isn't like this Ashen One is secretly a mob boss who sells drugs and alcohol and is shaping your sister to be his crime underworld mistress. Right?"

"H-hey!" the Chosen Undead said, "That's not funny!"

"You really do jump to conclusions easily," Maria couldn't stop herself from laughing. "All right, perhaps 'crime underworld mistress' is too much... How about a brothel madam, then?"

"S-STOP IT!" the knight snapped.

It didn't take very long for the group of friends to start laughing. They were amused at the Chosen Undead and his increasingly exaggerated reactions to their joking suggestions about Anri and the Ashen One. Rhea laughed the loudest, since her boyfriend usually didn't get riled up so easily and she thought it was incredibly cute how embarrassed he looked.

"W-whatever, guys!" the young knight stood up, flustered. "I-I'm g-gonna go get an i-iced coffee at the convenience store!"

"Oh honey, we were just joking!" Rhea called after the Chosen Undead, still laughing. "Wait, I'm going to get an iced coffee, too!"

...

"Here you go, two iced coffees. Have a nice day!"

Rhea took the two iced coffees from the cashier's hand and gave him a quick "Thank you" and a nod as she paid for their drinks. She walked over to the Chosen Undead and gave him his drink, smiling. He smiled back. Rhea had this talent of putting him at ease— just seeing her smile was enough to calm him down considerably. Besides, the iced coffee was a decent peace offering. The couple sat inside the convenience store for a while and drank their beverages. Once they had cooled down enough, they decided to rejoin their friends back at the park.

"Feeling better?" Rhea asked as she and her boyfriend walked back.

"Yeah, thanks," the Chosen Undead nodded. "Sorry if I overreacted back there."

"It's OK," Rhea said, "We did go a little bit overboard... But you were just so cute!"

"R-Rhea-chan!" the Chosen Undead blushed. Rhea could only giggle.

The couple reached the park not long after. But as they were making their way back to their table, the knight suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening until they were the size of saucers. Rhea stopped, too, and even she was surprised at what she was seeing.

It was the Ashen One, and he was hugging a girl.

The girl wasn't Anri.

The unfamiliar woman had long blonde hair and was wearing a dark purple jacket. She also had what appeared to be some sort of jeweled metal mask over her eyes. Actually, it looked more like she tried to put on a tiara, but the tiara was too big for her and it slid down her face. In any case, the Chosen Undead had just caught the Ashen One being affectionate with this woman, and the overprotective baby brother inside him was absolutely outraged.

"WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?!"

The Chosen Undead angrily marched up to the Ashen One. If he had any less self-control he would've jumped up and punched the older knight in the face right there and then. Thankfully he was still logical enough to at least demand an explanation. Though internally, the Chosen Undead was already getting ready to cast Soul Greatsword at any moment and hit the Ashen One with it if he needed to.

"Who is this woman?!" the Chosen Undead snapped.

"Marcus-kun, stop!" Rhea said as she grabbed her boyfriend by the arm.

"C-calm down, Marcus!" the Ashen One said nervously, putting his hands in the air. "I-it's not what it looks like!"

"What is it, then?" the younger knight demanded to know, "Who is this woman, and why were you hugging her?! You... You're not cheating on Sis, are you?!"

"N-NO!!!" the Ashen One said, "Of course not! This is my SISTER!!!"

"Ehh?!" the Chosen Undead said, still suspicious. "She doesn't look anything like you!"

"He's telling the truth," the woman spoke up. "I AM his sister. Seri, the Fire Keeper. Nice to meet thee, too."

"Wha...?" the younger knight was still skeptical.

The Fire Keeper sighed and took out her phone, then showed the Chosen Undead a photo.

"Uh... What am I looking at right now?" he asked blankly.

"Our legal adoption papers," the Fire Keeper answered, "It's very handy to have these around. Thou hath no idea how often people come to the assumption that Grey and I are dating. It's... quite unsettling, really."

"My dad married her mom when we were kids," the Ashen One explained. "Seri and I grew up together, and we're legally siblings through mutual adoption. She's been my big sister ever since I was five years old."

"Your... big sister...?" the Chosen Undead repeated in disbelief.

"It's called _'The Westermarck Effect'_. Look it up," the Fire Keeper added teasingly when she saw that the younger knight was still unconvinced. "I met up with my little brother today since I didn't get to see him at the airport last night."

"No, you didn't see me because you wanted to meet up with Horace instead," the Ashen One corrected her.

"I... I..." the Chosen Undead was at a loss for words and was getting embarrassed for the scene he just caused. He decided to change the topic. "Wait, you know Horace?"

Behind him, Rhea could only sigh and facepalm. "Oh, Marcus-kun..."

And almost as if on cue, Horace arrived on his black motorcycle as soon as the Chosen Undead mentioned his name. The knight stepped off his vehicle and took off his helmet, then sheepishly greeted the group. Horace had a goofy smile on his face, making him look like a gigantic bulldog. It seemed his presence alone was enough to dissolve the tension.

_"Hi Grey. Hi Seri. Sorry I'm late!"_ Horace gestured. He turned towards the Chosen Undead and Rhea. _"Oh, and hello to you too, Marcus and Maiden Thorolund!"_

Before the Chosen Undead knew it, Horace, the Fire Keeper, and the Ashen One had joined him and his group of friends. It was already lunchtime, and the Ashen One had volunteered to buy everyone lunch from one of the nearby food trucks. That definitely gave the Hunter, the Doll, and Maria a good first impression of him... much to the Chosen Undead's irritation. After they had finished eating, the Fire Keeper explained that she used to be the Blue Sentinels' medic, but resigned and returned to the city a few months ago. Nevertheless, she was still on good terms with both Anri and Horace despite no longer being part of the Covenant, and wanted to meet up with them now that they've returned from their excursion as well.

"So, where do you work now?" the Doll asked.

"Oh, I'm a nurse at Firelink Kiln Home for the Aged," the Fire Keeper replied.

The Hunter let out an audible gulp as soon as he heard the name of the place. Maria cringed and made a face that made her look like she just swallowed and entire jar of pickle juice. Thankfully Solaire rubbed her back to comfort her. The Doll coughed a few times, smiled awkwardly, and followed up with a polite, "Oh, I see."

"I... take it thou hath heard of the place..." the Fire Keeper said.

"We're all, uh... _intimately familiar_ with one of the residents there, yes," the Hunter coughed.

"Thou wouldn't, by any chance, be talking about Gehrman, right?" the Fire Keeper said.

The Hunter choked on his sandwich at the mere mention of the name. Maria cringed again.

"He's... quite the character," was all the Fire Keeper could say. Though the group could tell by the look on her face that she's had first-hand experience of the Old Hunter's shenanigans, too...

"Well, anyway!" Solaire decided to change the subject for the Hunter and Maria's sake, "Are you going to attend the Summer Festival at the shrine next weekend? Our group of friends are going together, but you are more than welcome to tag along! Anri will be there, too, so!"

"Thou art very kind to invite me," the Fire Keeper smiled. "I might be able to go. Someone needs to keep an eye on my little brother, after all."

"W-why would you need to keep an eye on me...?" the Ashen One asked, a single bead of sweat running down his temple.

"Because this is your first matsuri with Anri," the Fire Keeper replied, "And the flames told me I should prevent you from doing anything stupid. You have a tendency to do that, after all... Because you're an idiot."

"H-hey!" the Ashen One objected.

The Fire Keeper was unfazed. "I'm just being honest, Grey."

The Chosen Undead couldn't help but snicker under his breath. He didn't much care for the Ashen One, but he was starting to like his older sister already...

"And what about you, Horace?" Solaire asked the large knight. "Care to join us at the festival as well?"

_"Definitely!"_ Horace signed and gave a thumbs up. _"I'm not letting Anri have all the takoyaki to herself."_

"It's settled, then!" Solaire said happily. "Now we have more people joining us at the festival! Ah, it's always so nice to be surrounded by good company! Why, I'm excited already!"

"Ah, I just remembered!" the Ashen One suddenly sat up, "I should get this medication back to Anri. It's one dose every four hours for maximum efficacy. Well, see you back at the house, Marcus!"

"S-see ya..." the Chosen Undead said dryly.

"I suppose I should get going, too," the Fire Keeper stood up as well. "It was a pleasure to meet you all... So, where to, Horace?"

_"Do you even need to ask?"_ Horace gestured and smirked. _"RIBS!!!"_

The Fire Keeper chuckled at her friend's enthusiasm. "All right, all right, big fella. But thou art treating _me_ this time around."

Eventually the group parted ways, and by mid-afternoon the Chosen Undead and Rhea were ready to head back to the house. But before they went home, the couple made a quick stop at the convenience store again to buy some Estus Flasks for Anri. The Chosen Undead knew how gross and horrible his older sister got whenever she was sick, and he wanted to help her recover as fast as possible.

...

"Sis? Hey Sis, we're home!"

"We bought some Estus for you, Anri-san!"

The couple didn't get any response. Figuring Anri was asleep and that his parents had gone out for a walk, the Chosen Undead toed out of his shoes and quietly entered the home. He was heading for the kitchen to put the Estus Flask in the fridge, when he nearly had a heart attack as soon as he stepped into the living room.

"OH GOD, MY EYES!!! MY EYES!!! IT'S HORRIBLE!!!"

"Marcus-kun, what's wrong?!" Rhea said worriedly as she rushed into the living room. "Why were you— KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

The cleric maiden immediately covered her eyes with her hands and turned away. Meanwhile, the knight was fuming and already forming a Lightning Spear in his hand. He would've thrown it at the offensive, repulsive sight already... had it not been for the fact that Anri was part of said offensive, repulsive sight. That, and his mother would kill him if he scratched the coffee table.

On the living room couch were Anri and the Ashen One, a tangled mess of limbs as the two engaged in a passionate, and rather explicit, make-out session. Anri was straddling Grey's waist and firmly holding him by the shoulders, completely oblivious to the rest of her surroundings. Likewise, the Ashen One looked like he was under some sort of trance and seemed to be unaware that he no longer had a shirt (it was haphazardly thrown onto the coffee table). They were kissing so roughly they looked more like two sea lions fighting over a sardine. Only the Chosen Undead's screaming was able to grab their attention and make them stop.

"Oh, hey little bro!" Anri said nonchalantly, "Guess what? I'm not sick anymore!"

"Yeah, I can see that!" the Chosen Undead said, annoyed. He glared at the Ashen One, who had turned bright red like a lobster from embarrassment. "And YOU! You said you were just gonna give Sis her medication!"

"But, but, I did...!" the Ashen One said.

"Yeah, he really did give me my medication!" Anri added.

"And what, he used his _mouth_ to give it to you?!" the Chosen Undead continued to freak out. "Honestly, did you REALLY have to do that here?! In the living room?!"

"I don't see what the problem is, Marcus..." Anri shrugged. "We were just kissing."

"Our grandparents' antique photo albums are under that coffee table!" the young knight snapped, "You just defiled Granny Lulu's memory with that gross sweaty shirt! HAVE YOU NO RESPECT FOR YOUR ANCESTORS?!"

"MARCUS-KUN, I THINK THAT'S ENOUGH!!!" Rhea suddenly cut in and shoved her boyfriend up the stairs. "Oh, and Anri-san, your Estus Flask is in the fridge!"

"R-right, thanks!" Anri said awkwardly. As soon as she heard the door shut she turned around to face the Ashen One, ready to pick up where they left off... Except the Ashen One was already long gone. The knightess simply shrugged, laid down on the couch, then switched on the TV to watch reruns of _Mythbusters_.

Meanwhile, in the Chosen Undead's room, the knight still hadn't gotten over what he'd just seen.

"Ugh, my brain..." the Chosen Undead groaned as he clutched his head. "Can't unsee...!"

"Y-you weren't the only one who was traumatized!" Rhea said. "But really, there was no need to freak out like that! The neighbors might think something was terribly wrong!"

"Something WAS terribly wrong! "the Chosen Undead said. "I just saw my big sis making out with a guy on the couch! And they probably would've done more if we hadn't gotten home on time! Ugh, this is almost as bad as Artorias and Ciaran—"

"Marcus-kun," Rhea pressed a finger to the Chosen Undead's lips. "You're being unpleasant."

That was enough to finally silence the knight. The Chosen Undead sighed and fell backwards onto the bed. For a while all he did was stare at the ceiling and breathe deeply, trying to calm himself down. After a few minutes he felt Rhea lie down beside him, with the maiden holding his hand and nuzzling his cheek. The Chosen Undead let out another sigh.

"I know this is new for you and it can be... difficult..." Rhea said sofly, "But you just have to accept the fact that your sister has a boyfriend now. I'm sure Anri-san wouldn't have dated the Ashen One if she didn't think she could trust him. So you just have to trust Anri-san, too."

"... You're right," the Chosen Undead sighed. "I'm just being an idiot."

"... Yeah, you kind of are," Rhea teased. Still, she gave the knight a kiss on the cheek to let him know there were no hard feelings.

"Thanks, Rhea-chan," the Chosen Undead smiled as he got up. "I suppose I should go talk to the Ashen One and explain myself. Be right back."

The Chosen Undead went to the room across the hallway and knocked on the door a few times, hoping the Ashen One was inside and they could talk. No one was responding, though. He knocked a little bit louder. Still no response. The young knight was a bit annoyed that he had to search the house for the Ashen One just to apologize, but hey, it was better to just get it over and done with. The Chosen Undead returned to the living room, but only Anri was there and she had fallen asleep in front of the TV. He went to the kitchen next, but no one was there, either.

The Chosen Undead finally found the Ashen One under a tree in the backyard. But just as he was about to approach the older knight, he stopped. It seemed the Ashen One was on his phone and was talking to someone. The way he acted also seemed a bit... strange. Instinctively, the Chosen Undead decided to hide and observe. He found a spot near the tree and listened in on the Ashen One, being careful not to alert him of his presence.

"Yeah, don't worry. Everything's going according to plan... No, Anri hasn't suspected a thing yet. OK. Call me back when the sword is ready..."

The Chosen Undead froze. He felt a cold chill down his spine as his heartbeat quickened and sweat ran down his temple.

"What the hell...?!"


	3. Summer Festival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Chosen Undead discusses his discovery with his friends and asks for their help. The upcoming Summer Festival seems like a good opportunity to do some "investigating".

_"Sis...? Sis, wake up!!!"_

The Chosen Undead felt paralyzed. He could barely move a muscle in his body, barely even make a sound. He wanted so badly to do something about the horrific sight in front of him, but how could he, when he was frozen in place? He was standing inside a large, dark chamber, at the end of a seemingly endless corridor. What was this place? It looked like a... a tomb. It was then that the young knight realized the place was familiar to him... It was the Darkmoon Tomb... His older sister Anri lay unconscious on a stone altar at the very end of the room, her arms crossed over her chest, helmet removed and leaves scattered all around her. The Chosen Undead couldn't tell if she was still breathing or not. If only he could move his body, so he could at least have a good look at her face and make sure...

Suddenly, the young knight heard footsteps coming from behind him. They echoed loudly across the stone walls of the chamber, and with every passing second the scenario felt more and more like some sort of horror movie. The footsteps grew closer and closer, and when they finally passed him, and the Chosen Undead could see that they belonged to the Ashen One. The older knight was clad in full armor sans helmet, and he had a serious expression on his face. He slowly walked towards Anri, dragging an old, heavy-looking ornate sword across the floor. It seemed like an eternity before he finally stopped in front of the knightess. The Ashen One slowly knelt down, then raised the sword over his head...

_"Sis, wake up...! WAKE UP!!!"_

Even though the Chosen Undead yelled at the top of his lungs, no words came out. He desperately tried to move. It was painful, and his body wouldn't cooperate, but the knight kept trying anyway. His heart was beating so fast it felt like his chest was going to burst open any second now. He needed to get to Anri... He needed to save her... 

_"ONEE-CHAN, PLEASE WAKE UP!!!"_

Time was slowing down and becoming distorted... Every agonizing second that passed made the Chosen Undead feel like he was becoming smaller, weaker, more helpless... It was as if the chamber itself was growing larger and he was becoming tinier. He felt as if he were that same four-year-old boy in the forest again, unable to do anything except cry at the sight of his older sister in danger.

The Ashen One had already positioned the sword over Anri's head and was about to plunge it in...

_"NO!!! STOP!!! PLEASE STOP!!!"_

The tip of the sword's blade had already pierced the skin on Anri's forehead and blood strarted to drip out...

**_"NOOOOOOOOOOO, AAANNRIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!"_ **

"GAAAAAAAAAHH!!!"

The Chosen Undead shot up from bed, covered in a cold sweat and his heart racing. The nightmare just seemed so real... His asthma had also struck again, making him feel even worse. He reached for the inhaler on his bedside drawer and took a few puffs to try and even out his breathing. That helped calm him down a little, but the young knight still felt like his heart was just about ready to stop any second now. His frantic screaming had also woken up Rhea, who worriedly looked him over.

"Marcus-kun, what's wrong?!" she asked.

"S-sorry..." the Chosen Undead said in between breaths. "Just... just had a bad dream..."

The cleric maiden wrapped her arms around her boyfriend in an effort to comfort him. She pressed her face against his chest, hearing the young knight's still rapid heartbeat. That must've been quite the nightmare, for him to be so shaken up like this. This was the first time she had seen the Chosen Undead so scared, and frankly, it scared her, too.

"There, there... It's OK..." she whispered softly.

"I'm all right now, thanks..." the Chosen Undead sighed after a few moments.

"D-do you want to talk about it?" Rhea asked, still worried. "The dream?"

The knight shook his head. "N-no, it's fine... Sorry if I worried you."

Rhea bit her lower lip. "All right, if you say so..."

Even though he claimed he was fine, Rhea could tell the Chosen Undead really wasn't. He barely ate anything at breakfast, couldn't look either Anri or the Ashen One in the eye, and didn't speak much all morning. When he dropped her off at work, he only gave her a quick hug and left. Something was definitely wrong, but Rhea wasn't sure what it was exactly. She decided she needed to ask the Chosen Undead about the dream again later that evening. If he was even willing to talk, that is.

Rhea didn't have much luck. She tried asking him about the nightmare again after they had had dinner. The Chosen Undead still stubbornly refused to tell her anything, insisting that it wasn't a big deal and that she shouldn't get worried. He pretended that everything was OK, and that was happened that morning was just him overreacting. Rhea wasn't buying it. She could tell the knight was lying through his teeth even though he was flashing her his goofiest, most charming and most innocent smile.

"Really Rhea-chan, it's nothing," the Chosen Undead insisted.

"I just want to make sure you're OK," Rhea said, becoming irritated. "If you don't want to tell me about the dream, then that's fine. But please just be honest with me and let me know if something is bothering you!"

It was then that the Chosen Undead realized he had upset Rhea and tried to make up for it. He gently took her hands and leaned in to kiss her on the forehead, smiling at her sincerely afterwards.

Rhea kept frowning despite the blush on her face. "D-don't think that'll be enough to—"

The cleric maiden was cut off by yet another kiss from the young knight, this time on the mouth and more tender than the previous one. The time, she reciprocated. A good few seconds passed before the couple finally parted. Rhea sighed softly, not even bothering to hide the fact that she quite liked it when the Chosen Undead was affectionate with her.

"I appreciate your concern, Rhea-chan," he said. "Really, I do. And I'm sorry to make you worry... But you don't have to. Don't worry about me, OK? I'm gonna be just fine, I promise."

"Are you sure?" Rhea asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," the Chosen Undead chuckled. "Anyway, how about we change this depressing atmosphere, huh? Wanna talk about what we'll do at the Summer Festival? There's gonna be a lottery at midnight, and all the food and games booths will give you tickets if you buy from them... And I heard the botanical garden is gonna have a bonsai stall there, too..."

Rhea smirked. Her ears perked up at the mention of the word "bonsai". The Chosen Undead sure knew how to change the topic, all right.

"Is that so?" she grinned. "Well then, I guess that means the one by the bedroom window won't be lonely anymore!"

"Just don't go turning our apartment into a jungle, honey," the Chosen Undead chuckled again. "I mean, the living room already looks like a mini Darkroot Garden. Next thing you know we'll be attracting Forest Guardians and Demonic Foliage..."

Rhea playfully stuck her tongue out at him. "Not making any promises, Marcus-kun."

Now that the mood had lightened up, the couple resumed discussing their plans for the weekend. Soon, they were back to their regular lovey-dovey selves and it was as if the incident that morning had never happened at all. Rhea was smiling again and laughing at the bad jokes the Chosen Undead kept making. That led to her pinning him down on the bed to make him stop. That led to an impromptu tickle fight, which then led to the couple kissing, which evolved into a make-out session... and _that_ in turn eventually led to another thing entirely... The cleric maiden fell asleep on the young knight's chest afterwards, satisfied with how the evening turned out. They had cooled off the earlier tension, after all, and even got to discuss their plans for the Summer Festival.

But unbeknownst to Rhea, the Chosen Undead was also forming other plans of his own...

...

"You want us to do _what?_ "

Friday, 8pm at Chagall Café. It was Guys' Night— the women had gone out to make preparations for the Summer Festival the next day. The Chosen Undead, the Hunter, Artorias, Solaire, the Bearer of the Curse, the Slayer of Demons and Garl Vinland all sat at their usual table, sipping their coffees and exchanging stories. Solaire had excitedly told the other men that he had a "big, super special announcement" to make the next day and had the biggest smile on his face. Meanwhile the Slayer of Demons could only smirk upon hearing this and deviously shot sideways glances at Garl and the Bearer of the Curse while making money gestures with his fingers. When it was the Chosen Undead's turn to speak, though...

"So let me get this straight," the Hunter said, "You want us to STALK the Ashen One tomorrow?"

"No, not 'stalk'," the Chosen Undead shook his head, "More like, 'quietly observe from the shadows'."

"Um, isn't that pretty much stalking?" Artorias asked.

"And I for one have experienced being stalked while on a date myself..." Solaire frowned. "Not a very good memory. I honestly think you should reconsider this plan of yours. I mean, wouldn't Anri get awfully upset if she found out about this?"

"Yeah, Solaire has a point," the Hunter nodded. "And are you sure you really wanna do this? After all, you could've just misheard what he said on the phone."

"Please guys!" the Chosen Undead clasped his hands together and practically begged. "I really really need your help! I just wanna make sure my sister is safe! I mean, wouldn't any of you get suspicious after overhearing THAT kind of conversation?"

A few moments of silence passed as the men carefully considered whether they should help the Chosen Undead. Garl was the first to speak up.

"Y-you have a point..." the paladin rubbed his chin in thought. "Reminds me of the time that shady acolyte tried to ask Selen out. I followed him once and it turned out he was really just after her armor because of its stats... All right Marcus, you have my support on this one!"

"Awesome! Thanks, Garl!" the Chosen Undead smiled.

"No problem," Garl smiled. "Oh, and I'm volunteering the Slayer of Demons to help you out, too."

"EHH?!" the Slayer of Demons protested, "Wha... Why am I suddenly involved in this now?!"

"Because you're good at sneaking around, avoiding authorities and not passing any suspicion onto yourself while doing illicit activities," Garl replied.

"Y-you make it sound like I'm a criminal or something, dude!" the Slayer said.

"And besides, where's your righteous brotherly instinct?" Garl added.

"I'm an only child, bro..." the Slayer muttered. "But fine, I'll join on on this is you want... Just pay me with booze or something and I'm good."

"Well, I suppose I'll help, too," the Bearer of the Curse shrugged. "We ARE just gonna observe him, right? No setting up booby traps or trying to ambush him in the dark, right? Because I'm not cool with something like that."

"N-no, nothing like that..." the Chosen Undead insisted.

"Wait! Actually..." Artorias suddenly said, "I've had my fair share of... _encounters_ with uncouth scoundrels who tried to take advantage of my older sisters, too... Count me in. Besides, I'll do anything to help a friend out!" He extended his hand for the Chosen Undead to take.

The Chosen Undead smiled and took the larger knight's hand. "Aww, thanks, Arty!"

"... The pressure's on me to join in too, huh?" the Hunter sighed. He took another sip of his coffee before speaking again. "All right, fine. But for the record, I'm only doing this because you're my friend, Marcus. And because I want to see for myself whether or not the Ashen One is to be trusted."

Artorias chuckled. "Thine own brotherly instinct must have something to do with it, too!"

The Hunter snickered. "No Arty, 'brotherly instinct' doesn't really apply to me, unfortunately. Middle child and black sheep of the family, remember?"

Suddenly, all eyes were on Solaire. The Warrior of Sunlight gulped and looked around nervously, but as much as he tried to resist the Chosen Undead and his pleading puppy dog eyes, he didn't have the heart to refuse his best friend.

"I... Well..." Solaire was deep in thought. "I guess I can help if you want me too. I've dealt with this kind of thing before, anyway. Red always did attract some of the more unsavory characters before she finally settled down with Flann... Just promise me you won't do anything to hurt the fellow. You know I absolutely won't stand for harming innocents."

"You have my word, Solaire," the Chosen Undead nodded. "I promise all we're gonna do is observe him. So no swords, trick weapons, Miracles, Sorcery, Pyromancy—"

"Aww man, no Pyromancy?" the Slayer of Demons said in a mock whine.

"No trick weapons? But Great One powers are fair game, right?" the Hunter teased as he drank his coffee.

"A-anyway..." the Chosen Undead continued, "If the Ashen One does do anything suspicious, I'll personally confront him about it. But I swear I'm not gonna fight him unless it's absolutely necessary. Knight's honor!"

Another long silence hung in the air before Solaire finally made his decision. "All right. I'll help you 'observe' the Ashen One. Just... If it comes down to it... Please don't ask me to make Stormo throw lightning bolts at him, all right?"

"Haha, I think Stormo should only be used as a last resort," the Chosen Undead grinned. "But thanks, Solaire!"

"So there, Marcus," the Hunter smirked. "You have our full support now."

"Congrats, dude. Now you have your very own bro army!" the Slayer of Demons teased.

The Chosen Undead was so overjoyed by the support that he practically had tears in his eyes now. He nodded and smiled at his friends.

"Thanks, guys! Thank you so much! I mean it! Let's all work together to keep Sis safe!"

...

_"A couple walking together at a festival... Unused to wearing it, the girl's yukata comes loose... Summer has begun."_

"The hell kinda tagline is that?"

Lord's Blade Ciaran snarked and gave the Slayer of Demons a glare. The knight grinned sheepishly as he continued to ogle the girls in their yukata. The women weren't quite sure whether they should be flattered... or bust out the pepper spray. And they also couldn't tell if the Slayer's face was bright red because he was blushing, or if it was because he had already had four bottles of sake that afternoon. Probably both. He grinned again.

"Oh, you like it?" the Slayer said, "Just a little something I came up with when I saw the beautiful, bedazzling, bodacious sight in front of me! And those yukata suit y'all perfectly, too! I mean, Astraea's yukata brings out her curves and big chest, and Shanalotte's matches her hair and hides her stretch marks!"

"Ugh!" Astraea cringed as she used her arms to cover herself.

"Creep!" Shanalotte said.

Meanwhile, Garl and the Bearer of the Curse were contemplating whipping out Bramdt and the Fume Ultra Greatsword...

"Don't worry, he is probably seeing twenty-one girls instead of seven, anyway," the Maiden in Black said dryly.

Ciaran said rolled her eyes. "I didn't even wanna wear this in the first place..."

"But Ciaran, thou look gorgeous in it!" Artorias said with a smile, "Just think of it like a normal sleeping yukata!"

The Lord's Blade rolled her eyes again. Even though Ciaran didn't think so herself, she actually did look quite stunning in her navy blue yukata. Heck, ALL the girls looked great that night, and the Slayer of Demons decided to continue taking in the scenery as much as he could (much to the chagrin of the girls' respective boyfriends / fiancé / husband). 

Astraea was wearing a pure white yukata with a crimson obi, making her stand out from the rest of the women; her choice of colors only further accentuating the fact that she was a _literal_ saint. Rhea wore a white and orange yukata with peach tree and peach blossom stencil designs at the bottom. She also had a flower in her hair, and the Chosen Undead thought she looked remarkably cute with it on. The Emerald Herald wore a green yukata with white jasmine flower designs and had tied her hair up in a bun on the back. The Doll and Maria were both wearing maroon-colored yukata, with the Doll's having white butterfly designs and Maria's having black _mitsudomoe_. Both women were also wearing decorative hair ornaments. And the Maiden in Black's yukata was... well, BLACK with a white obi, causing the Slayer of Demons to joke that she looked like she was either about to attend a funeral or was going to join the Soul Society and unleash her _bankai_... He added that she still looked hot either way, earning a small smile of approval from his girlfriend.

The men had dressed up for the occasion, too. And while they obviously didn't look as stunning as the women did, they didn't look too bad either. Artorias was wearing a royal blue yukata, custom-tailored to fit his nine-foot-tall frame. Garl was wearing a light blue yukata with _chigai kuginuki_ — interlinked diamond patterns— that looked like it would go really well with his squid-shaped helm. The Chosen Undead wore a simple blue jinbei. The Bearer of the Curse wore a striped dark green yukata with a tan haori over it. Written on the back of the haori was the kanji for "strength". The Hunter was wearing a charcoal yukata along with a black scarf, perfectly matching his trademark hat. Solaire wore perhaps the most unconventional and most colorful yukata among the men: a bright yellow one with red sun patterns. Then again, this was Solaire... And the Slayer of Demons wore a striped greenish-grey jinbei with the top part open, revealing his chest and the bandages he had wrapped around his stomach in order to look like a tough guy.

"So, are we gonna walk in pairs or what?" the Slayer said again, "I mean, the shrine ain't that big and there are, like, _fourteen_ of us here... Wouldn't want it to get too crowded, eh? Good thing everyone in the gang is a couple! Let's go!"

"Yeah, I can't wait to get some ikayaki!" the Bearer of the Curse added.

"Careful on the sodium intake there, Bren..." Shanalotte teased as she held on to her husband's arm. "Shalquoir's vet bills are expensive enough."

"Hehe, ikayaki..." the Slayer of Demons snickered. "That's grilled squid..."

"Don't you dare..." Garl said, glaring at the other knight.

"Grilled squid is delicious, though," Astraea said. "So yes, why don't we all go on ahead now?"

"Hang on, Sis isn't here yet!" the Chosen Undead said. "You guys haven't met her yet!"

"Hi everyone! Sorry to keep you waiting!"

And right on cue, Anri showed up with the Ashen One in tow. With them were Horace and the Fire Keeper. All four of them were also dressed in traditional clothing, with Anri wearing a dark blue yukata with white _kotobuki ebi_ designs and a crimson obi; and the Ashen One wearing a dark red yukata with black stripes. The Fire Keeper wore a dark purple yukata with gold bamboo leaf patterns, while Horace wore a black jinbei with the sleeves removed, showing off his bulky physique and the rather imposing tattoo on his left bicep.

"Took you long enough, Sis!" the Chosen Undead greeted the second group. He turned to his friends and promptly introduced his older sister. "Everyone! This is Anri, my big sis!"

"Whoa, you've got a pretty big group of friends!" Anri chuckled in surprise. "Hey there! Nice to meet you all!"

"Hello! I'm Grey, the Ashen One!" the Ashen One added. "Nice to meet you all, too!"

"Seri, the Fire Keeper," the Fire Keeper introduced herself.

"Hot DANG!!!" the Slayer of Demons blurted out, blushing even more when he saw the two new women who came to join their group. "The gods have answered my prayers tonight! I can't believe I'm meeting two more smoking hot women wearing yukata! This is the best Summer Festival ever—!"

"Lucian dear, please stop being so creepy," the Maiden in Black said flatly as she covered the Slayer's mouth with her palm. She turned to face the Fire Keeper. "I apologize for my boyfriend's behavior. He gets a little hyper when he's had sake..."

"It's fine," the Fire Keeper smiled and shook her head. "I work at a senior home. I've dealt with worse. I like what thou hath got going on with thine eyes, by the way. Boletaria Nexus model?"

"Why, yes!" the Maiden in Black smiled. "Thou hath a very stylish tiara, too! Lothric Firekeeper model? The one with the 20/20 Darksign on the inside?"

"Yes, indeed!" the Fire Keeper smiled back. She held out her hand. "It seems we have similar taste in eyewear. Seri, the Fire Keeper. Pleasure to meet thee."

"Circe, the Maiden in Black," the Maiden in Black said as she shook the other woman's hand. "Pleasure to meet thee, too."

"Wow, you two sure hit it off quickly..." Ciaran snarked, folding her arms. 

Maria meanwhile cocked her head to the side and looked at Horace, noticing that he hadn't spoken a word. "So, who is the big muscular guy over there? He has not introduced himself yet."

"Isn't that the guy from the _HeavyBubbles_ commercial?" Shanalotte added. 

"Can I just call him 'The Mountain' if he won't tell us his name?" the Slayer of Demons joked. "Hope he doesn't crush my skull, though! Hehehehe!"

Horace glared and grunted at the shorter knight upon hearing that remark. The Slayer, obviously affected by the alcohol now, merely grinned back at the towering sentinel. Thankfully Anri was there to intervene before things could get ugly.

"Oh, this is my best friend, Horace the Hushed," Anri said. "Please don't get the wrong idea. He doesn't talk because, well... he _can't._ "

"Well, that was awkward," Maria muttered.

_"It's OK. You'll just have to settle for sign language, guys,"_ Horace grinned as he gestured.

"O-oh, I see..." Garl said, noticing the large scar across Horace's throat. "I'm sorry, the Slayer here just doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut sometimes." He coughed awkwardly and continued apologizing on the Slayer's behalf, then elbowed his tipsy friend in the stomach.

"H-hey! What was that for?!" he protested.

"Strike two, Lucian," the Maiden in Black said.

The Chosen Undead and Rhea introduced their friends one by one afterwards, with Anri constantly joking that she needed a pen and a piece of paper to list down all the names so she wouldn't forget. Still. it didn't take long before she was happily conversing with Artorias, Ciaran, Solaire and Maria, their topics ranging from swords to lifting weights to pets... 

Artorias took the opportunity to talk about his wolf Sif, giddily describing how he rescued him as a pup when he was a teenager and brought him to the shelter he worked at, unaware that Sif was actually a wolf and not a dog. The Abysswalker ended up adopting the pup and raising him, and the two had been close companions ever since. Anri had always wanted a pet herself, but because of the incident from twenty years ago, she had crossed Crystal Lizards off the list. She was particularly impressed that Solaire actually owned a Stormdrake, though the Warrior of Sunlight did have to point out that his companion liked to fly off on his own every now and then and returned only when he felt like it. Kind of like Ash's Charizard, really. Maria added she didn't even _know_ Solaire had a pet and mentioned that she'd been sharing an apartment with him for five months already when she suddenly saw a huge dragon-like creature swimming in the pool one morning. Anri couldn't help but laugh at the image.

Meanwhile, the Fire Keeper and the Maiden in Black were getting along swimmingly, bonding over their similar interests. Shanalotte joined in on their conversation as well once the women started excitedly talking about vegetarian desserts. When the topic changed to _Cards Against Humanity_ , Astraea happily joined in on the conversation, too. The Fire Keeper chuckled upon seeing the saint was so enthusiastic about the game. She mentioned that she also had a cleric friend who was also a big fan of it, but could only play in secret because her sort-of-not-quite tsundere boyfriend wouldn't let her play such a "foul, offensive, unladylike abomination of a game". Astraea gave Garl a sideways glance and smirked. The paladin turned his head away and blushed.

Horace, on the other hand, made a connection with the Bearer of the Curse. The Forossa knight was surprisingly adept at sign language and the two men gushed over their love of food, heavy weapons and the fact that they were both often mistaken for thugs at first glance because they were tall, bearded, and heavily built. Horace mentioned that he actually liked playing up the "big scary tough guy" stereotype sometimes, and went on to tell a story about how one time, he saved a lady who was being harassed in a bar once. A drunk, psychopathic-looking knight from Carim had been threatening her, when Horace intervened by staring the knight down and growling. The knight turned tail and ran away from the bar like a scared little girl, with his perfectly-conditioned long black hair swaying in the wind. The two men laughed over this, then proceeded to talk about whether Corgi puppies or Scottish Fold kittens were more adorable.

Overall, the gang had accepted Anri and her friends quickly enough... except for the Ashen One, who remained awkward and silent as they walked through the festival grounds. He seemed fidgety, even more so than usual.

This didn't go unnoticed by the Chosen Undead. Of course, he did consider the possibility that the Ashen One was just uncomfortable around large crowds of people. He was like that himself sometimes, and so were some of his other friends, like the Hunter. But after overhearing that phone call, the young knight was determined not to be complacent.

...

The gang was having a blast at the Summer Festival. As the night went on, the group engaged in several activities. The Chosen Undead and Anri had that long-awaited rematch of catching goldfish, which ended in a draw as both siblings caught their fish at the same time. Amusingly, the turtle at the bottom of the tank was still the same one from their childhood, though it had obviously grown old and didn't try to bite the Chosen Undead's finger anymore. Ciaran and Maria participated in a dart-throwing game and were so utterly competitive Maria nearly set the booth on fire after losing to Ciaran three times in a row... They still won lottery tickets for playing, at least.

Besides the games, the gang also visited the food booths. Horace and Anri practically assaulted the stalls and cleaned out the takoyaki stand, especially. Artorias was so enthralled by the grilled steaks Ciaran had to control him or else he'd knock down the entire booth. Astraea had also apparently become addicted to the candied apples and returned to the stall several times, but at least she didn't look like a stampeding elephant seal every time she came back for another serving. Garl and the Slayer of Demons passed by the grilled squid stall... Naturally the Slayer couldn't help but make a crack at Garl. Five seconds later he had twelve grilled squid stuffed into his mouth.

Rhea and the Chosen Undead, as they had agreed, made a stop at the botanical garden's stall. Apart from the usual Moon Grass, Moss, and Green Blossoms, they were indeed also selling bonsai. Though it turned out Rhea wasn't the only one interested in the tiny trees, as a short teenage girl in glasses was also there and bargaining with the stall owner to lower the prices of the plants. Rhea decided to help her out and bought the small bonsai she was eyeing for her, causing the girl to weep tears of joy. She kept on thanking Rhea and crying as a taller, blond teenage boy dragged her away in embarrassment. Meanwhile, the Chosen Undead could only stare with a baffled expression at the bizarre experience of apparently having seen his and Rhea's younger selves...

As the gang went around the festival grounds, the Chosen Undead's "Observation Team" took turns checking on the Ashen One. So far, he hadn't done anything suspicious at all. The Hunter and the Doll visited a booth selling antiques and old books and tomes when the Ashen One passed them by. While the Doll wasn't looking, the Hunter quickly used his Great One power to sightjack one of the festivalgoers standing closest to the knight. Through remote vision, he spotted the Ashen One speaking with a festival official. And he found out that the Ashen One... had accidentally gotten separated from Anri and was asking the official for help. A little while after, Artorias kept an eye on the Ashen One as he and Anri were trying out one of the strongman games. Apart from failing miserably at winning the grand prize, Artorias reported that he hadn't done anything strange either. 

Later that night, the Bearer of the Curse and the Emerald Herald were watching a taiko drums show when he reported seeing the Ashen One sneak away and go off on his own... only to return with eighteen large snowcones for the group. Garl had caught a glimpse of the Ashen One crouching around by the trees next to the main shrine when he and Astraea were making their wishes. When he went in for a closer look, it turned out he was just catching Genji beetles. Solaire and Maria were checking out the lantern displays with him and Anri, when the Ashen One suddenly darted off into the woods, seemingly in a hurry. Solaire quickly excused himself and followed the knight, but immediately turned back and left in disgust when he found out the Ashen One just badly needed to take a piss and the men's comfort room was full. And the Slayer of Demons... didn't bother keeping an eye on the Ashen One at all because he was slowly becoming more and more drunk as the night went on. Thankfully, the Chosen Undead wasn't there to call him out.

Honestly, as far as the men could tell, the Ashen One wasn't acting suspicious at all. But he _was_ kind of a clumsy, socially awkward dork.

At that point, the Chosen Undead was starting to doubt what he'd seen and heard as well. Maybe Anri wasn't in any danger after all...

A few more hours passed and the gang was having a late dinner at some nearby picnic tables. They had occupied the entire area because their group was so large, but thankfully the festival officials didn't mind. Anri and the Ashen One were sharing a table with the Chosen Undead, Rhea, Solaire, Maria, the Hunter, and the Doll. The Sunlight Warrior, noticing how their "target" had been silent for much of the evening, decided to talk to him.

"Say there, you haven't spoken much all night!" Solaire said to the Ashen One. "Is there a problem?"

"N-no, no problem at all!" the Ashen One shook his head.

"He's just uncomfortable around other people," the Fire Keeper said from the opposite table, "And he is terrible at making conversation so he just stays quiet, even if it makes the situation even more awkward. Because my little brother is a communication-deprived, socially inept man who can't even say 'Hello' or 'Good morning' for that matter."

"H-hey!" the Ashen One protested. "I take offense at that!"

"I'm just being honest, Grey," the Fire Keeper said nonchalantly as she took another bite of her okonomiyaki.

"I like her," Ciaran smirked.

"I know, right?" the Maiden in Black grinned.

"I-I can so make conversation!" the Ashen One insisted.

"Then why don't ya tell us a funny story, dude?" the Slayer of Demons suggested. "Go on! It can be about anything! Embarrassing deaths, getting ganked in PvP, whatever! Heck, you can even share some bedroom _faux pas_ if you want—"

The Bearer of the Curse quickly clamped the Slayer's jaw shut. "Strike three, Lou."

"W-well, I... Er..." the Ashen One stammered, "Well, I guess I can tell you about my favorite webcomic..."

"Ah, sounds interesting!" Solaire said, "Do go on!"

And so the Ashen One went on to talk about his favorite webcomic, which was an obscure, poorly drawn MS Paint series from the late nineties. It was supposedly a fantasy story, but the writing was so bizarre it came off as just random rambling. The knight gradually became more comfortable talking the more he recalled some of the more weird and hilarious parts of the story, though. By the time he got to the climax of the story, he was red-faced and giggling.

"Because of the comic's bizarre structure, these were the closest things they had to villains in the story..." the Ashen One continued, "A giant, oversized M&M with arms and legs called 'W&W', which for some reason I found absolutely hilarious. A character from another webcomic that he used without permission... A photoshopped image of a woman, and she's been photoshopped to have blue skin... A guy named Shizzle, who had grey skin and no backstory— he just shows up one day and he hates everybody for no reason... Anne Robinson from _The Weakest Link_ , because William was on the show and he sneezed on Anne Robinson and blew her out of the studio! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

The Ashen One laughed like a hyena at his own story, and his laughter was so infectious everyone else joined in despite having absolutely no idea what the bloody hell he was even talking about. In fact, even the Chosen Undead found himself laughing along. Anri was the only one who sat there with a completely straight face, apparently from having heard this story a hundred times already.

The knightess could only facepalm. "Oh, Grey..."

After the gang had all finished eating, Solaire stood up and drew the group's attention by tapping a spoon against his glass. Guess it was time for the "big announcement".

"Everyone!" Solaire beamed, "I... I have an important announcement to make. Actually... I've been thinking about telling you all this for a while now, and... I guess now's as good a time as any, since we're all here!"

The Warrior of Sunlight took a deep breath and looked at Maria, as if asking for her approval. The huntress merely rolled her eyes at him but smiled nonetheless. Solaire turned back to his friends and smiled.

"Maria and I are officially a couple now!!!"

"AWW, YEAH!!!" the Slayer of Demons jumped up and yelled. "CALLED IT, TOTALLY CALLED IT!!! IN YOUR _FACE_ , CIARAN!!! HAND OVER THE MONEY!!!"

"GODDAMMIT!!!" Ciaran shouted as she angrily threw a fat wad of cash on the table.

"Ahh, no!" Shanalotte said as well. "I can't believe I lost the bet...!"

"I can't believe I _won_ the bet!" the Bearer of the Curse said in surprise.

"I can't believe I won, too!" Garl gasped in disbelief.

"Garl!" Astraea snapped. "You actually participated in this?!"

"YEEEEEEEHHAAAAAWW!!!" the Slayer of Demons whooped as money started to pile in front of him. "Everybody who voted 'For', we're rollin' in dough tonight, baby! MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MOTHAFU—"

_FWWWWZZZZZHHHH!!!_

"NOOOOOOO, MY MONEEEEEEEY!!!" the Slayer cried in horror as his cash began to catch on fire.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Maria stood up and yelled, "What on earth is going on here?!"

"M-Maria, stop!" Solaire said.

"C-calm down, Maria!" the Doll said. "Please do not get upset!"

"I demand to know what is going on!" Maria said.

"Um, well..." the Doll said sheepishly, "The Slayer of Demons... He sort of... made a betting pool on whether or not you and Solaire would get together."

"YOU _WHAT?!_ "

"But honestly, Maria," the Doll said matter-of-factly, "We all saw it coming. You and Solaire were acting like a couple before you even _were_ a couple... Which officially happened three weeks ago, by the way. Do not think I could not tell. You even bought a CostCo value pack of condo—"

"E-Evetta!!!" the Hunter said, mortified. "You're making things worse!!!"

Several excuses, an argument, and two or three Sunlight Spears later, the situation finally calmed down. Solaire realized what was done was done, even though he was still terribly upset with the Slayer for trying to make money off his and Maria's love life. He decided to use the betting pool money (at least, what was left of it that didn't look like fuel for the First Flame) to buy everyone dessert as a token of peace. The gang— and by extension, Anri and her friends— was here to enjoy the Summer Festival, after all. He didn't want the night to end on a bad note. Thankfully, things went smoothly again afterwards.

...

The festivities for the night were coming to an end, with only the fireworks display and the midnight lottery draw at the torii left. The Chosen Undead took this opportunity to regroup with his "team" and discuss the results of their "observation". The men excused themselves from the group and quietly met at the wooded area near the main shrine.

"So?" the Chosen Undead asked, "Did you guys find anything?"

"No dice, dude..." the Slayer of Demons shrugged, "The new guy didn't do anything fishy at all tonight."

"So perhaps thou really hath just misheard what he said on the phone..." Artorias added.

The Chosen Undead sighed and rubbed his head in embarrassment. "Y-yeah, you guys are right... I guess I was just overreacting. Again. Man, I'm such an idiot...!"

"Hey, the important thing is we were able to assess the situation from both sides," the Hunter said, patting his friend on the shoulder.

"Well, anyway, we should go meet up with the others," Solaire said as he stood up. "The fireworks display should be on in about an hour, and we have the lottery draw at mid—"

_"What do you mean the sword still isn't ready?"_

The Chosen Undead and the rest of the men froze. That voice... It belonged to the Ashen One. He had snuck away from the group as well, and was on his phone again. He seemed frustrated... The men immediately hid behind the bushes and trees, straining their ears to listen in on the Ashen One as best as they could.

"L-look, I need to get that sword as soon as possible, or else Anri might get suspicious! Y-you said you're the best blacksmith in _Londor_ , right? No, we can't just settle for another sword! It HAS to be THIS one, or else it'll be all for nothing! Please... I... I have to do this..."

"Holy shit..." the Slayer of Demons muttered.

"D-did he just say what I thought he just said?" the Bearer of the Curse said, shocked.

"Isn't Londor where all the Darkwraiths are from?!" Artorias added.

"Let's all calm down for a second!" the Hunter said. "We don't know the context of that conversation, so let's not all immediately assume that he's planning something shady! Yeah, OK, so he mentioned 'Londor', but I'm sure that place is known for other things besides... besides... erm... Hollows, Darkwraiths, the Sable Church, and Kaathe, right? Right? Right???"

"No offense, but that definitely sounds shady to me..." Garl muttered.

"M-Marcus, what do you think?" Solaire asked. "Marcus?"

The Chosen Undead didn't answer. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

"You... What are you planning to do to my sister?!"

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Soulful Art of Dating](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7619683) by [FanficsbyVe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanficsbyVe/pseuds/FanficsbyVe)




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